An artist rendering of the planned new NJIT events center. (Courtesy NJIT)

By Jessica Mazzola | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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on February 19, 2015 at 11:11 AM, updated February 19, 2015 at 11:46 AM

NEWARK — More NJIT sports fans will likely be able to take the family to regular home games a few seasons from now, thanks to a recently approved events center that school officials say should be added the the university's campus by 2017.

The NJIT Board of Directors recently approved preliminary plans for a 200,000 square foot "wellness and events center," New Jersey Institute of Technology President Joel Bloom confirmed. The project is expected to cost a little over $100 million, he said.

As Brick City mentioned, NJPAC tower was listed as a summer groundbreaking. This directly contrasts with the one month timeframe that was mentioned during Ras Baraka's town hall meeting that I have been posting about. The only thing I could think of is the discrepency between the start of work and the start of digging to actually put a shovel in the ground. There is a two story building that served as a temporary annex to NJPAC as a ticket office on the corner of the site which is also occupied by a Newark Police office. That must be removed and the parking lot torn up to begin digging. Demolition might take 2-3 months and is a different permit than excavation.

Teacher's Village retail is 70% pre-leased and Ron Beit specifically targeted retail that he would "want to replicate" as opposed to the liquor stores and hair braiding places that make up the vast majority of downtown retail, particularly along Halsey Street. He wants to create "destination retail" but not specifically national chains. Unfortunately, very few Newark businesses have the capital to open a second location or the desire to move. I think the replacement of the Calumet building will contribute the remaining 30%. Permits are almost all acquired for the retail stores, something that was eased by the clear regulations of the new zoning code, so interior work can finally begin within a month.

According to Julio Colon, 219 private housing units were constructed last year, with many of them being two or three-family buildings. 198 units are underway now and 183 are in the permitting process.

The Valentine's Day Land Sale was a massive success. 500 couples or singles (can't discriminate in any way, including relationship status) lined up and looked at lots and all 100 were sold. 25 to Newarkers, 45 to NJ residents, and 30 from outside New Jersey, particularly New York City. The news has continued to spread rapidly with 555 positive news reports about Newark, and it was reported on in France and Tokyo!!! They are hoping for another sale soon to build on the success and sell the other 2000 city owned residential lots. The result of this sale means 100 new homes completed within the next 18 months.

The Clinton Street artists housing I mentioned earlier will be at 505 Clinton Street. A huge former historic bank building will be renovated into live-work spaces. https://www.google.com/maps/place/50...047d638fab7230 It is one block from the new Newark Public Safety office that is one block east.

Carmel Towers (250? units) near Weequahic Park is currently abandoned. It failed some very important inspections and was emptied almost overnight. A developer bought the building and is working on permits to renovate it.

A number of statistics were thrown around.

24% own their own homes and 76% are renters. This would not be a problem, but there is a huge problem with "absentee landlords" that suck every penny out and do little in repairs.

Newark has 8 code enforcers for the whole city. At least 20-25 would be needed to properly keep up with those absentee landlords.

Ras Baraka is initiating varying plans to crack down on those landlords through either punishment or incentives.

Affordable Housing in Newark Housing Authority owned buildings also has a waitlist of 20,000!

55% of all renters pay more than 30% of their income in rents. 30% are below the poverty line.

Rents are extremely high compared with sales due to the odd demand. There is a huge demand for rental apartment but few Newarkers can get the financing to buy a house. Normally, the rent price formula is the sale price divided by 120 months. This means that a $180,000 three-bedroom condo could be fairly rented for $1500 a month and would require a household income of $61,000. It often costs $200,000 to build the same unit, thus the need for the subsidy. Newark's median household income is $34,000 so half make less than that, hence the massive need for subsidized housing.

At last count, there were 1500 homeless people in Newark, likely with many on the wait list for subsidized housing. There is a $2,000,000 program to house them and provide services, but that is too small. SERVICES ARE A PRIORITY TO HELP THEM!!!

NHA estimates a need for $560 Million extra to solve the housing problem. $13 Million is allocated from Congress in the 2015 budget and that is shrinking. They are moving towards subsidizing suburban homes AGAIN (that started the whole mess in the 1930's), and are even eliminating the programs. Hope VI was eliminated. Newark has to look increasingly to non-traditional funding sources like non-profits and corporate grants, and random other state and federal programs. It is possible, but it is a logistical NIGHTMARE! At the current rate, the affordable housing stock is decaying faster than it can be maintained or renovated.

Phase 1 is mostly built except one building , Phase 2 & 3 I haven't heard much and that depends on the market. Seeing how market rate housing is doing well , we could see Phase 2 break within a few years.

Under Construction
Teachers Village - phase 1 (charter schools complete; residential and retail underway)
15 Washington Park (Rutgers graduate housing and classroom/event space)
494 Broad Street addition (parking garage with 2 floors of Cablevision offices)
Prudential tower and satellite retail buildings on Broad and Halsey Streets
IDT building (IDT is renovating and moving back into the lower 3-4 floors)
Hahnes Building renovation (Whole Foods, retail, apartments and space leased by Rutgers-Newark)
Carlton Hotel (pretty sure it is being renovated into a Tryp by Wyndham)
Rock Plaza Lofts (Redd's Restaurant & Bar is moving in to the last remaining vacancy)
Biotrial North American headquarters (part of University Heights Science Park)
NJIT Central King Building and York Building addition

Upcoming Projects

Rutgers-Newark new science building (I have no idea why groundbreaking has been delayed so long on this fully funded project)
One Theater Square (theoretically a June groundbreaking; financing supposedly complete)

Proposed Projects

One Riverview at Rector Street (this will hopefully jump to 'under construction' but there has been no activity since the faux groundbreaking)
Commerce Street hotel (proposed for the former Cardinal Health building that adjoins the parking garage on Commerce Street)
Triangle Park (City Council approved but still threat of litigation delays)
Parking garage behind City Hall (currently held up by litigation with Edison Properties)
Four Corners (ambitious project involving 79 parcels around Market and Broad Streets acquired by RBH)

Matrix Development Group is moving ahead with its plans for a mixed-use development on a waterfront site adjacent to the Newark Legal Center and Panasonic's North American headquarters, the firm's top executive said Wednesday.

Joseph S. Taylor, CEO and president of Matrix, said the firm “is going through the planning process now” for a project whose first phase could include 220 residential units, a full-service hotel and underground parking at the 5-acre site. He said the firm expects to have applications into city officials by sometime in the second quarter.

“We’re hoping to be in the ground by this time next year,” Taylor said, starting with the parking component.

The head of the Cranbury-based firm spoke to NJBIZ after the annual real estate forecast event hosted by the Newark Regional Business Partnership.

RBH Group unveils plans for $30 million 'indoor vertical farm' in Newark

By Joshua Burd March 9, 2015 at 2:43 PM

A former industrial site in Newark will become home to the world's largest “indoor vertical farm” and the operator's new global headquarters under a plan detailed Monday by RBH Group, the developer behind the city's Teachers Village and Four Corners projects.

The $30 million project is already underway in the city’s Ironbound section, the firm said, in what will create a 69,000-square-foot facility and nearly 80 new jobs. The space will be operated by the startup AeroFarms, a high-tech commercial grower for vertical farming and controlled agriculture, occupying the site of a former steel factory at 212 Rome St.

The first phases are slated to open in the second half of this year, RBH Group said in a news release. When complete, AeroFarms will have the capacity to grow up to 2 million pounds per year of baby leafy greens and herbs in an environmentally controlled, safe and sanitary facility.

The current floor plan of each apartment includes an open living room, dining room and kitchen space; three bedrooms and two bathrooms (including a master suite); and laundry in each unit. The floors will be made out of poured concrete; closed cell foam insulation will exceed current standards. Other sustainability measures include the structure’s base, which will be built on pile footings to allow for better rainwater absorption and an option for residents to install solar panels in the future.

Cooke says the firm started looking at repurposing shipping containers a few years back when they were re-designing their own Newark office. They weren’t able to pull the financing together in time, but have been exploring the idea of using containers for affordable housing ever since.

“The neighborhood has not seen a lot of for-sale housing in a number of years since the real estate crash,” says Jeff Crum of CAPC. The organization acquires vacant lots and abandoned properties with the aim of stabilizing communities like Lincoln Park. “We’re trying to reinvigorate the neighborhood and create homeownership opportunities.”
(Credit: C+C Architecture)

The renovation of this site into an outdoor amphitheater and community garden with hydroponics is 99% funded and will start very soon. The church facade is completely stabilized and repaired, and the cupolas will be restored. - Lincoln Park

The parking lot in the back will soon be replaced with a Hotel and Conference Center. It will likely be in the 20-something story range, and the size of the conference center is unknown. The site is quite large and directly adjacent to the NJPAC Light Rail station (Served in both directions), so it could easily handle a very large conference center. The project is still in the conceptual massing stage, so it will still be several years away. NJPAC was always designed as part of an arts district with it catalyzing numerous new buildings adjacent to it.

Shaq's tower at 40 Rector Street will actually break ground in the Summer, according to Schreiber. He was quite hopeful of that, having been in conversation with them about it. It will actually benefit NJPAC's projects by being a part of the larger arts district, which would be more inviting.

NJPAC's tower was originally supposed to be 44 stories high, but was cut in half because they could never work out the financing. As a 22 story tower with 244 apartments, it will cost $106 Million. It received a $33 Million Transit Hub tax credit and $12 Million in funding through the rental car tax from the airport. With private financing, it is now 100% funded. It will now officially break ground in 6 weeks from today, which would be around May 15th, which is mid-spring, as previously reported. I specifically asked Schreiber about the 30 day deadline given during the Economic Development town hall meeting, and he says that they were given the wrong information. Many of the recent delays relate to the redesign of the building, specifically the recent change of an entire floor from market rate to more affordable apartments. The market rate apartments will be about the most expensive ones in Newark, with the exception of the large units in Packard Lofts and Eleven80 Raymond. The project will take 2 years to complete.

Prudential Tower

That mysterious green wall. Each section has an individual planter with the plants already in place. The vines should quickly cover the fences and create a huge wall of leafy greenery, one of the largest in the state. Black hoses can be seen for the irrigation system.

The second external elevator location has been almost completely covered. You can see the mounting brackets for the Prudential Logo signage.

NJIT is in the process of a large building spree. The Gateway project is not included because of the difficulties involving Saint Michael's Medical Center, which is a partner in the project. They are looking to get themselves purchased by a large hospital operator, so it is unknown if they will have any investing power at all. Instead, they are looking at several smaller "campus gateway" projects in the form of renovating a large building by I-280 on Orange Avenue into apartments and installing sculptures in several locations. Also, they are building the 950 space, 7 level parking garage and a $100 Million events center for sporting events. That was kicked off due to the huge need to concentrate the parking on campus, and to create a proper 4500 seat gymnasium for the basketball team, which has recently won several major games and beating all odds, specifically against a number of unbeatable teams.

A third project is the construction of a "Life Sciences and Engineering Center" between the existing parking deck and the Environmental Engineering building. I have know hope for the architecture and like the existing building, I would not be surprised if it does everything except stick up its middle finger to the Martin Luther King Boulevard side of the site. The site slopes down about 20 feet, which the other building responded to by having 20 feet of solid vertical wall before the first windows, a move that characterizes the entire remainder of the campus's outer perimeter. The project will cost an abnormally low $13.5 Million (The Honors Dorm and Greek Village, although larger, cost over $80 Million), with $5.5 Million more spent on lab equipment.

This is the conceptual massing from the Vector student newspaper.

It will replace the surface lot on the right side, but must maintain access to the offices on the side of the Parking Garage. NJIT's Bursar's, Financial Aid, and Registrar's offices are located down there, with no usable alternative entrance, as well as one of the two entrances to the "Student Mall" computer labs. The other is on MLK Boulevard (itself seen in the background of the image) and is rarely used. For an idea of the difference between campus interior and outer perimeter entrances, The parking deck has two pedestrian entrances. One is by the vehicle entrance on the Summit Street side and does not have a door. between outside and inside. It was removed because of the hassle of holding it open, particularly in the wind. The other side, on MLK, has a side entrance and a narrow meandering path leading to it. You can see it in the far corner of the parking deck. You have to swipe your NJIT ID card to get in or out there (which has an override that sets of an alarm and releases after 15 seconds in case of an emergency). The same applies to Weston Hall and the GITC building, which both have campus interior and street-side doors. The Honors Residence that was recently constructed requires a card swipe from both sides, and fake card swipers were added to the convenience store and pizza restaurant entrances. The convenience store's Warren Street side door locks 3 hours before the store closes, forcing you to walk around to the back from 10 pm to 1 am. With this mindset, expect a walled off monstrosity from all three of NJIT's imminent expansion projects.

A college for the future: Rutgers proposes massive makeover for Newark campus

By Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 03, 2015 at 7:25 AM, updated April 03, 2015 at 10:16 AM

NEWARK — Rutgers-Newark's jumble of crowded streets and aging buildings would be replaced by a pedestrian-friendly campus with modern classrooms and free wifi under a new plan presented by university officials yesterday.

KSS Architects of Princeton has provided this rendering of the second floor lobby for Express Newark. (Courtesy KSS)

By Dan Bischoff | For The Star-Ledger
on April 03, 2015 at 3:00 PM, updated April 03, 2015 at 3:03 PM

The office of Rutgers University Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor has released the first architects' renderings of the planned interior of Express Newark, the new academic arts center and commercial development planned for the old Hahne & Co. department store on Broad St. next to Military Park.

The computer-generated images show a stripped-down space punctuated by glass curtain walls and decorated by out-sized signage and funky sculpture. (One image includes Jeff Koons's gold-chrome "Balloon Dog" filling out a two-story-tall gallery space, like the Koons "Rabbit" in the New School lobby in Manhattan.)